which of the following statements best explains how the fourteenth amendment increases the power of the national government? a. it allows the national government to prohibit voting discrimination based on race in the states; 2. it allows the national government to prohibit discrimination based on gender in the states; 3. it allows the national government to ensure civil liberties and civil rights in the states; or 4. it allows the national government to practice fiscal federalism in relation to the states
The correct statement that best explains how the fourteenth amendment increases the power of the national government is option 3: it allows the national government to ensure civil liberties and civil rights in the states.
The fourteenth amendment, ratified after the Civil War, includes the Equal Protection Clause, which prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. This clause has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to require state and local governments to adhere to fundamental rights and guarantees of the federal Constitution, ensuring civil liberties and civil rights for all citizens.
Options 1 and 2 focus on specific forms of discrimination (racial and gender-based) that the amendment addresses, but they do not directly explain how it increases the power of the national government. Option 4 describes fiscal federalism, which deals with the division of financial responsibilities between the national government and the states, but it does not specifically address the power the fourteenth amendment grants to the national government.